Instructor

This course was created by Dr. Naira Velumyan, Founder of the Academy of Social Competency, Ph.D. in Psychology, Forbes Councils Member, Registered Psychotherapist, International Speaker, Entrepreneur and Etiquette Expert. The course incorporates many years of accumulated knowledge and coaching experience, which Dr. Velumyan successfully applied throughout the years and passionately shared with her clients. The idea of this course was inspired by stories of her adult clients who are still carrying a load of low self-esteem from their childhood. Self-confidence was never an issue for Dr. Velumyan — she was always inspired by her parents and grandparents, even though they separated when she was three years old and were mainly busy building their lives and careers. Spending most of her time in a boarding school, she had a strange feeling of being alone in this world and relying only on herself, which became one of her strongest qualities. This quality helped her face her innate introversion and life challenges. Having never been secure in communication, networking, public speaking and self-presenting on the camera, she was able to overcome her negative loads and pulled herself out of the “comfort zone” of fears. At the age of 23, due to her widowhood and need to take care of her two little children, Dr. Velumyan had to establish herself in business — she opened her first hardware store, and a half year later, the second one. Her next business was a wholesale clothing company, then a car repair service, followed by the small chrome-plating factory. Along the way, she began to study, graduated from law school, and later turned to psychology, successfully completing a graduate program and earning a Ph.D. degree. As a practicing psychologist, she became a certified specialist in Jungian Analytical Psychology, Family System Therapy, Psychodrama, Ericksonian Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Therapy. Dr. Velumyan raised her two children alone and lived with them in Moscow until they graduated from university, being closely involved in their lives as a mother, a friend and a guard. Only after they became independent, she felt confident enough to immigrate to Canada, where she arrived with limited language skills, without having clear plans for the future, but with a passionate desire for a change. All she had, was her professional knowledge and experience from the world left behind, “spiced” with big ambitions and self-confidence. As a result, she spoke English fluently in just four years of immigration, built a growing coaching practice, and created her Academy of Social Competency. As well, being in love with art and as an agent of a famous Russian artist Alexey Klokov, she organized various art exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Toronto and Hamptons. She even opened her own art boutique in Toronto.